What is Variable Life Insurance?

Variable life insurance, also known as 'variable universal life insurance', is a form of permanent life insurance with flexible terms and investment options. This type of insurance is no longer available in Australia, where the main type of life insurance is known as 'term life insurance'.

The difference between variable life insurance and other permanent life insurance is its flexible terms, including the opportunity to:

Reduce or increase your death benefit, within prescribed limits.

Change the timing and amount of your premiums. For example, you may choose to pay premiums annually, or increase or decrease premiums within prescribed limits.

Choose the way your cash value is invested among the available funding options (including growth options such as shares).

With a variable life insurance policy, both the cash value and the death benefit will vary depending on how well the investments are doing. As with any investment, there is growth potential but also the chance of capital loss. Likewise, skipping or postponing premium payments can affect your policy's cash value and death benefit, and may mean you need to top up your premium payments in future years.

Variable life insurance is useful for people who want risk protection that can last throughout their lifetime, and the flexibility to change their sum insured, premium payments and investment allocation as they see fit.

How can I get variable life insurance?

Nowadays, Australians have access to excellent, cost effective term life insurance that can meet all their risk protection needs throughout their life. This can be complemented with a wide range of savings and investment plans for their future financial security.

Products and services including banking, superannuation and insurance (including home and car insurance but not life insurance) are provided by separate companies in the Suncorp Group. Suncorp Bank (Suncorp-Metway Ltd ABN 66 010 831 722 ) is only liable for the banking products or services it provides and not the products and services of other companies in the Suncorp Group.

Life insurance is provided by Asteron Life & Superannuation Limited ABN 87 073 979 530, AFSL 229 880 (Asteron). Asteron is part of the TAL Dai-ichi Life Australia Pty Limited ABN 97 150 070 483 group of companies (TAL). Suncorp is a distributor of Life Insurance products issued by Asteron. The different entities of TAL and the Suncorp Group are not responsible for, or liable in respect of, products and services provided by the other.